Reunion
by kakashifangirl
Summary: Six years have passed since Yugi and his friends graduated from Domino High. Now, with the death of a friend, they have all been reunited. Who is the killer? Why did heshe do it? Read to find out!
1. The Wedding

Hey all! I don't own YGO, and I don't own Mystic River which is the novel/movie which this fic is loosely based upon. Enjoy!  
  
She ran blindly through the woods, branches whipping at her face, roots tripping up her every move. She could still hear him behind her, but his breathing and footsteps sounded further and further away. Frantically she looked for a place to hide. Not finding one she continued to run. She soon realized her stupid high heels were holding her back. She stopped, yanked them off, and again took off away from her pursuer. After awhile she could no longer hear the man chasing her. In a way she felt relieved, but she also felt a new wave of terror. She had no clue where he was. Ahead she spotted an old hallowed out tree. She approached it, then deciding it was a good place to hide she squeezed inside. Putting her hand over her mouth to stifle her loud breathing, she looked out into the darkness, wondering if her pursuer was out there. Her question was soon answered when she saw a figure walking in front of her hiding spot. "Please God, don't let him find me," she prayed silently. The figure stopped, and her heart jumped to her throat. He approached the tree she was tucked away in, and she knew it was all over.   
  
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"Joseph Wheeler wake up!" Mai Valentine screeched into her fiancée's ear. Joey bolted up, and looked around confused. His eyes darted over to the clock. It was only 6:00 am. "Mai it's only 6:00 why do I hafta get up?" he questioned. The blonde woman let out an exasperated sigh.   
  
"Joey need I remind you that TODAY IS OUR WEDDING DAY!!!" she bellowed. Joey grinned sheepishly.   
  
"Oh yeah," he mumbled, tossing the sheets off himself, and getting out of bed. Mai shook her head angrily, and stormed out of the room. Joey grinned to himself. God he loved her so much, bad temper and all. He took a quick shower, and could smell eggs, hash browns, sausages, and toast when he got out. He threw on his bathrobe, and headed to the kitchen. Mai was sitting at the table already. She didn't look angry with him anymore, the cooking must have soothed her nerves. She planted a kiss on the top of her head before grabbing his food. Mai stood up from the table.   
  
"I have to go get my hair done now. Then Téa is coming over to help me get in my dress. I should be ready by 9:30. That way we can be at the church by 10:00. Do you think you can be all ready by 9:30?" Mai asked.   
  
"Yeah," Joey replied sleepily. "No problem." Mai didn't look convinced.  
  
"Okay, just don't fall back asleep or anything," she threatened. Mai grabbed the car key, along with her purse and headed out the front door. Joey finished his breakfast, and decided to watch some television. However, as soon as he sat down the doorbell rang. Grumbling, Joey lugged himself off the couch, and to the door. He opened it, and was greeted by a smiling Tristan Taylor.   
  
"What da ya want Tristan?" he asked.   
  
"I came to help you get ready for your big day buddy!" Joey raised his eyebrow.   
  
"Did Mai send ya?" Joey questioned. Tristan laughed nervously.   
  
"No, of course not. Can't a person help his best friend get ready for his wedding?" Joey still looked unconvinced. Tristan broke down, "Okay, okay. Mai didn't think you would get ready by yourself so she told me to come help you."   
  
"I CAN DRESS MYSELF!" Joey shouted. Tristan looked at Joey in his robe.   
  
"Yeah, I can see that," he replied sarcastically.   
  
"Hey I have plenty of time!" Tristan stepped in Joey's house.   
  
"Well I am here now, so I might as well help you get ready." Tristan had his suit with him, as well as a small black box. "I have everything I need so I'll just leave from your house."  
  
"You got da ring?" Joey inquired.   
  
"Of course," Tristan replied holding out the black box.   
  
"Thanks, for watchin' it for me man."  
  
"No problem." The two sat down in the kitchen and talked for awhile, while drinking coffee. Soon they heard Mai's car pull up, and rushed upstairs. They dragged Joey's tuxedo out of the closet, and pretended as though they had been getting ready. Mai and Téa's footsteps, were soon heard coming up the stairs. "We're changin' in here!" Joey yelled.   
  
"I need my dress," Mai said impatiently. Tristan went into the adjoining bathroom, and Mai was allowed to enter. " I am happy that you are actually getting ready," Mai said smiling.  
  
"What? Did ya actually think dat I wouldn't be ready for my own wedding?"  
  
"Well, I heard you forgot that today was even you wedding," Téa said from behind the closed door. Joey turned red.  
  
"Hey stay outta dis!" he exclaimed. Téa started laughing. "Not funny," Joey told her, his voice with a slight bit of annoyance in it. Mai grabbed her dress, then kissed Joey lightly.   
  
"9:30," she reminded him.   
  
"Yeah, yeah," he said ushering Mai out of the room. "I'll be ready." By 9:30 Mai, Joey, Tristan, and Téa were all dressed and ready to go. The bride and maid of honor left first taking Mai and Joey's car, and the groom and the best man left a little later, taking Tristan's car. Traffic was clear, and they got to the church at about ten minutes until 10 o'clock.  
  
"Okay, we've got plenty of time," Mai said, taking in a deep breath. I told everyone that is in the ceremony to get here at 10:30." Téa put her hand on Mai's shoulder in a reassuring manner.   
  
"Everything will be fine," she told her. The bridesmaids, flower girl, Mai's father, and anyone else included in the ceremony began arriving right on time. Mai whisked away Téa and her bridesmaids, for some last minute adjustments, and a pep talk from the bride. Tristan coached the flower girl on her job, and Joey talked to his soon to be father-in-law. It was only when Mai had gathered all of her bridesmaids together that one was still missing. "Does anyone know where Serenity is?" she inquired. Everyone shook their heads. "Damn it," Mai cursed under her breath. "I'll ask Joey if he has seen her," she said and started to walk away.   
  
"No!" Téa stated firmly. "It is bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding you know that! I'll go ask him," and with that Téa took off. She soon reported back that Joey had not heard from Serenity. Mai began to look on the verge of tears. "I'm sure she'll show up," Téa told her, though she didn't look so certain herself. 11 o'clock rolled around and the church began to fill with guests. Still, there was no sign of Serenity.   
  
"We'll give her until 11:30. If she doesn't show up by then, we will just have to do the wedding without her."   
  
"She knows this wedding is important to me! Why would she just not show up!" Mai wailed.   
  
"Don't cry your make-up is going to run," Téa warned her. Mai stopped crying, and Téa helped her reapply her make-up. Serenity never showed up, and at noon the wedding started without her. Joey was shocked to see that his baby sister had not shown up. It wasn't at all like her. She had been looking forward to being in his and Mai's wedding. Plus she was a dependable person, so even if for some reason she couldn't make it to the wedding, she normally would have called. Other than Serenity not showing up, and Yugi's cell phone ringing, causing him to leave (He didn't return.) the wedding went well. It wasn't until they were leaving the wedding Joey thought about Serenity again. Upon exiting the church, they saw dozens of cop cars speeding down the street. Mai shot Joey and inquisitive look, and he shrugged his shoulders. Many people started wandering away from the wedding and down the street, where the action was taking place. "Oh my God, Serenity," Joey thought to himself. "Something has happened ta her." He immediately shook off the thought. He had no reason to believe that something bad had happened to his sister. Still, as he walked towards the cop cars, he felt a sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach. He saw Yugi standing on the scene, talking to another officer.   
  
"Yugi what's goin' on?" Joey asked.   
  
"I can't discuss it with you Joey," was Yugi's reply. Joey was starting to feel silly for coming over here. He was sure Serenity was fine. He was there was a logical explanation for he no show at his wedding. Until he saw it. Serenity's Mitsubishi Gallant. He was sure it was hers. It had the same bumper stickers, the same blue lei hanging from the mirror, the same dent on the side of it. Then he saw the blood. All over the sidewalk, and all over the car. And he screamed. Then her started yelling, "Damn it Yugi! Tell me what happened that is Serenity's car! What happened to her??!!"  
  
"I can't…" Yugi began, but he was cut short by Joey.   
  
"She is my little sister for Christ's sake! Tell me what happened!"  
  
"I don't know Joey. We haven't found her. Right now she is still considered a missing person."  
  
"She might still be alive?" Joey asked no longer yelling.   
  
"She may be."   
  
"What can I do?  
  
"Pray," Yugi replied. "Pray."   
  
Thanks for reading please review if you would like me to continue! 


	2. The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

Hey everyone! I am back! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. After this one all of the characters will come into the story, and the plot will develop more. It will get better, and much more interesting, so bear with me while I go though important, but kind of boring details. If you do I promise a quick update, so we can get to all interesting things with all of the characters involved! Thanks, enjoy, and please review!   
  
  
  
The officers were kind to Joey offering him coffee, donuts, and anything else they could provide. All Joey really wanted though, was to see Serenity. To know she was okay, to hold her, to tell her that he loved her. Joey hated standing around, waiting to find out what happened to his sister. He had asked if he could aid in the search of Serenity, but Yugi had not allowed it. "No civilians are allowed to help," he had told Joey.   
  
More and more cops were arriving to help look for Joey's baby sister. They had even brought in trained search dogs, helicopters, and a team of divers, who were going to search the nearby ocean. This, to Joey, was an ominous sign. Anything they found in the river would most certainly not be alive. He brought this fact to Yugi's attention. "Just covering all of our bases Joey," Yugi said smiling meekly. Joey didn't press the matter, but he felt the knot in his stomach grow just a little bit larger. The crackle of Yugi's radio startled Joey back into reality. "Trooper Mutou?" asked the voice on the other end. Unclipping the walkie-talkie from of his belt Yugi replied, "Yes?" There was a long silence before the officer responded. "I think you need to come in here," the man said quietly. Joey's eyes widened.   
  
"Did they find her?" he asked, grabbing Yugi by the shirt collar. Yugi gently took Joey's hands off of him.  
  
"I don't know anymore then you at this point. I'll let you know when I find anything out." With that Yugi lifted up the yellow Police Line: Do Not Cross tape, ducked under, and set off towards the woods. Joey watched Yugi disappear, his heart sinking. He hated not knowing if Serenity was alive or dead, hurt or perfectly fine. As nice as the police were being, they weren't telling him anything. Joey looked around, and saw that no one was paying attention to him. He quickly darted under the tape, and went in the same direction that Yugi had. If no one would tell him what was going on with his little sister, he would just find out for himself.   
  
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As soon as Yugi was far enough way from Joey he spoke into his walkie-talkie. "Where are you?" he questioned.   
  
"I sent an officer to the edge of the woods. He will take you to the scene," came the reply of his partner Takumi. Soon, the waiting officer came into Yugi's view. Neither of them said a word, but the man motioned for Yugi to follow him. A little way into the forest they came upon what Yugi surmised to be the crime scene. The place was crawling with cops, many holding dogs that were barking and pulling frantically at their leashes. Yugi spotted his partner, Takumi Satoru, on the balls of his feet peering into a hallowed out tree. Yugi approached Takumi, "What's up?" he asked, though he was sure he already knew the answer to that question. Takumi stood up and motioned towards the tree.  
  
"Take a look for yourself," he told Yugi. Taking a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to look at, Yugi squatted down, and glanced into tree. It was all he could do to stop himself from crying. Curled into the fetal position inside of the tree was Serenity Wheeler. The once beautiful young woman was now a mess, beaten and shot through the head. Yugi stood up quickly, and looked away from the tree, tears stinging behind his eyes. Memories of a happy, smiling, Serenity kept running through his mind. He thought about Joey, and how devastated he would be. It was his wedding day for Christ's sake, he didn't deserve this.   
  
"You going to be okay, Mutou?" Takumi asked. Yugi nodded, and forced a grim smile as he turned back towards his partner. He could see in Takumi's eyes that he didn't believe Yugi. He knew Yugi wasn't okay. Yugi knew it as well, and try as he might to fool himself, he knew in is heart that he would never be okay again until he found whoever had done this to Serenity.   
  
"Since it is a park we have jurisdiction over the local cops," Takumi informed him. "Haruno, assigned us on the case, but you can always give up the it," he suggested. Yugi knew that would probably be the smartest move. He was too emotionally involved in the case, and he was trained to give up anything which he had personal ties to. At the same time he also knew that he needed to stay on the case, for Joey, for poor Serenity. They deserved to have someone working hard to catch the person who did this, and he knew that no one would work harder to solve this case than him.   
  
"No," he firmly told Takumi. "I want this case." Takumi nodded, not saying a word.   
  
"So," Yugi said deciding to concentrate on the case. "What do we know so far?" A grim look spread across Takumi's face.   
  
"Not much," he answered truthfully. "Some boys made the 911 call when they found her car. We've been combing the area for evidence, but all we've been able to recover were some shoe prints that look to match the vic's."  
  
"No other shoe prints besides the girl's?" Yugi asked in disbelief.   
  
"Yeah, guess the rain last night washed away a lot of the evidence." Yugi doubted this statement, since some of Serenity's footprints were still intact, but he kept his mouth shut , and instead asked,  
  
"Is there anything else?" Takumi let out a long sigh, shaking his head.   
  
"Nope, that is about it," he replied.   
  
"Shit," Yugi cursed quietly.   
  
"My sentiments exactly." Yugi stood there, lost in his own thoughts. He couldn't believe this was happening, it still hadn't sunk in. Who would do this to Serenity? She was a wonderful person, with no real enemies, at least as far as Yugi knew. Everyone liked her, so it was hard for Yugi to fathom why, or even how somebody could have done this. Yugi glanced back at the hallowed out tree, and made a promise to himself to catch Serenity's killer no matter what. Now motivated by rage, sadness, and a promise, Yugi looked over at Takumi.   
  
"Okay, we need to interview everyone who lives in the vicinity of this park. Someone may have seen or heard something. Then we need to find out what Serenity was doing last night, and who she was with. We have to interview everyone that saw her the night she died. We need to talk to her brother. She lived with him and his girlfriend. Her close friends also need to be brought in. Hopefully someone will have an idea as to who might have wanted her dead." Takumi nodded as he wrote down everything Yugi said. "We have to make sure the ME (A/N Medical Examiner for anyone who may not know) puts this case on the top of his list. When the body is taken away we have to make sure that tree is searched for bullets. If any are found, get them to ballistics right away. Oh… and…um, her brother is going to need to ID her body," Yugi said.   
  
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Joey had lost sight of Yugi and the other officer, so it took him a while to arrive at the location to which Yugi had been heading. Making sure he was hidden from view by the trees, Joey slowly approached the congregation of cops. He scanned the area for Yugi, finding him talking to a tall, well-built officer, with a mop of black hair, and piercing black eyes. Yugi's face looked tense, and filled with concern. There was a hint of sadness in Yugi's large, violet, eyes as well. Joey attempted to move closer, in order to hear what Yugi was saying, but in the process he stepped on a stick. It made a loud cracking noise as it snapped in two, causing a nearby cop to turn around.   
  
"Sir, you can't be here this is a secured area," the officer informed him.  
  
"Listen, ta me! My sister in in dere and I wanna know what's goin' on!" Joey shouted. At the sound of Joey's voice, Yugi whipped around. A look of shock spread across his face, and his eyes widened as he yelled, "Get him out of here! He is the brother! Get him out!" Joey began to move towards Yugi, but before he got anywhere two men grabbed him, and began to take him away from the scene of the crime.   
  
"Yugi!" Joey screamed. "Tell me what's going on! Is Serenity okay?" Yugi locked eyes with Joey, and the look on Yugi's face confirmed Joey's worst fears. He let out a howl, collapsing to the ground. He was still screaming, and crying as the cops took him away. 


	3. What Happened Last Night?

Joey sat in the police station in a state of perpetual numbness. There had to be some mistake. This couldn't be happening to him. Serenity, his baby sister, was dead. "Dead," he whispered to himself. Even saying the word out loud didn't make it seem real. He looked up to see Yugi coming toward him and Mai, coffee in hand, strained smile on his face. He was followed closely by his partner, and both sat down across from Joey and his wife, at the small table. Yugi's partner took out a small pad of paper, as well as a pen.

"I know his is a hard time Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, but we're going to need to ask you a few questions. It's just standard procedure." Joey gave a small nod. "When was the last time you saw Serenity?" Takumi questioned.

"She got back from her university classes at about 6:00. Den she came ova ta have dinner wit me and Mai," he replied softly. Yugi had never seen Joey in so much pain, and it made his heart swell with sadness.

"Okay. What did you do after dinner?" Takumi asked. This time is was Mai who answered the question.

"Serenity, Téa, and I went out. We had a small, informal bachelorette party for me. We went out to Gravitation. You know that club downtown? Anyway, we stayed there until about 11:00. Then we went to Téa's and watched a chick flick. That got done at about 1:00. After that Serenity took me home. I asked her if she wanted to stay the night, but she told me that she was going to stay with Téa. We said our goodbyes and that was the last time I saw her." As soon as she finished her account of the previous night's events, Mai burst into tears.

"Who would do this?" she sobbed. It was the saddest sight Yugi had even seen: Mai, still in her wedding dress, her make-up running all over her face, choking on her own tears. Yugi had to fight back tears of his own as Joey put his around Mai reassuringly.

"Did Serenity have any enemies, anybody who might want to harm her?" Takumi asked.

"Of course not!" Joey yelled, startling everyone at the table. "She was da nicest person I eva knew. Everybody loved her!"

"It's alright Joey. I know this is rough, but please, could you calm down?" Yugi asked quietly. Silent tears flowed down Joey's face, as he nodded silently.

"Actually...," Mai trailed off.

"What?" Takumi demanded.

"Well she had kind of a psyhco for an ex-boyfriend. To say the least, he never took their break up very well."

"Oh yeah," Joey said through gritted teeth, a scowl spreading over his face. "Duke Devlin. What a punk. Dey broke up a while ago though."

"Duke?" Yugi asked, surprised. Mai and Joey nodded in unison.

"What do you mean when you say he didn't take it well?" Yugi's partner inquired.

"Well, just last night for example he showed up at the club. He tried to get Serenity to leave. Duke said Serenity should be spending time with him, not out dancing like some slut. Serenity tried telling Duke that they weren't together anymore, but he didn't listen. Finally Téa and I stepped in. We told Devlin to leave Serenity alone, or he'd regret it. He left, and that was it." Mai told the officers.

"Look, we've had a hard day. Could we please leave now?" Joey pleaded. Yugi nodded. The newlyweds stood up, and Yugi thanked them for their time. He handed them his card, and told Joey and Mai to call him if they thought of any new information that might be helpful.

"I think we need to pay visits to Duke Devlin, and Téa Gardner." Takumi said.

'Yeah we also need to stop by that club, Gravitation," Yugi added. The two decided to split up, that way they wouldn't waste time. Yugi thought Téa, and Duke would open up to him more, so he headed to their houses, while Takumi went to the dance club.

"No," Téa insisted. "Serenity didn't spend the here yesterday."

"That's not what she told Mai," Yugi persisted.

"Well, she didn't stay here last night," Téa said, averting Yugi's eyes.

"Maybe you can tell me where she did go that night?" he asked. Téa mumbled that she didn't know, but Yugi wasn't convinced. He pressed the matter until Téa gave in.

"Okay so I do know where she went. But I promised her I wouldn't tell," she stated firmly.

"Uh, Téa... I don't mean to be blunt, but Serenity is dead. Keeping her secrets won't be necessary. In fact, it's probably the worst thing to do right now. If you tell me what you know, it will help us find her killer."

"She went to her boyfriend's house," Téa informed Yugi. He raised his eyebrows.

"Really? According to Joey and Mai, Serenity didn't have a boyfriend."

"I'm the only one who knew." she said. Téa explained to Yugi that she had seen Serenity with a guy in a restaurant one night. She had confronted her friend about it, only to discover that the guy was her boyfriend. Serenity had made Téa swear not to tell anyone. When Yugi asked why Téa she wasn't allowed to tell anyone about Serenity's boyfriend, she said it was because Serenity knew her brother wouldn't approve.

"Why wouldn't he approve?" Yugi asked Téa.

"He hated the guy she was seeing," Téa replied. Yugi let out a sigh.

"Téa, I need a name for this mystery guy." Téa bit her lip, and started hard at the ground. After a few moment of hesitation, she mumbled a name. Yugi couldn't hear what she said, and asked Téa to repeat herself.

"Kaiba," she said, shaking her head in disgust. "Now can you see why she didn't tell anyone? No one likes the guy! He's an ass! Joey would have killed them both if he had known. I didn't approve, but Serenity was my friend, so I kept her secret."

"How long had they been dating?" Yugi inquired. Téa scrunched her face in concentration, trying to recall how long Serenity had been seeing Kaiba.

"About a year. She told me, they were going to move into together," She said, whispering the last part.

"Thanks for you help Téa," Yugi said.

"Could I please speak with Mr. Kaiba?" Yugi asked the secretary at Kaiba Corp.

"He's quite busy," she informed Yugi. He flashed his badge.

"I think he can make time for me," Yugi said, grinning at the secretary petrified look. She nodded, and picked up the phone.

"Mr. Kaiba. The police are here. An officer says he needs to speak with you." The secretary jotted something down on a piece of paper, and hung up the phone. Handing Yugi the paper, the secretary told him to go the room written down. Yugi took the elevator up to the sixth floor, then looked for meeting room number 602. He found it easily enough, and rapped lightly on the door. A voice on the other side of the door informed Yugi he was allowed to enter. A look of surprise crossed Kaiba's face upon seeing his arch enemy enter the room.

"Well, well Officer Mutou. What brings you here?" Kaiba asked.

"Actually it's Trooper Mutou, and Serenity Wheeler brings me here," Yugi answered.

"Joey Wheeler's sister? Why would I know anything about her?" Kaiba inquired nonchalantly.

"Kaiba there is no easy way to say this, but we found Serenity this morning. Dead." At this Seto lost his composure.

"Dead? Serenity? Dead?" he choked. Tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes, and he quickly spun his chair around, hiding his face from Yugi.

"Why would I care?" he asked.

"Kaiba, it's okay. I know about the two of you. You don't have to lie." Kaiba turned his chair around, tears still gleaming from the corners of his eyes.

"Look, Yugi. I'm not a nice person. I know that. I'll probably never change. But Serenity brought out a different side of me, a part of me I thought was lost long ago. It sounds sappy, I know. Just saying it makes me sick, but it's true. I loved her. You might not believe me, but it's the truth."

"Is it true that you two were going to be moving in together?"

"Yeah she is, I mean was, going to come live with me at my mansion."

"Where were you last night?" Yugi asked.

"What do you think I killed her?" Seto asked in disbelief. "I loved her. If you're looking for the killer you should talk to Duke Devlin."

"Why?" Yugi questioned.

"He threatened Serenity. She was scared of him, of what would happen if he found out about us."

"Getting back to the question, where were you last night?" Seto told Yugi he was working until late at night. He could check the security camera footage, if Yugi didn't believe him. Yugi collected the footage, told Seto he was sorry for his loss, and left. It was definitely time to go see Duke Devlin.

"Sorry," Duke said, brushing his hair out of his face. "I have an alibi for last night."

"Who's there Duke?" asked a women's voice from behind the black haired man. A woman appeared, dressed only in her bra and underwear. Yugi blushed and averted his eyes. "Oh, my. Aren't you handsome," the woman said, checking Yugi out from head to toe.

"Go back inside," Duke told the woman. "He's a police officer." She obeyed Duke's orders, and retreated into the house.

"Sure got over Serenity Wheeler quick," the young Trooper said casually.

"Is that what this is about?" Duke inquired. "Yes, I went to Gravitation last night, and tried to get her to leave with me. I wasn't trying to hurt her. I was a little drunk to be honest," he told Yugi. "After I left I went to Wish, another club nearby. I know the owner, and he'll confirm I was there. Then I met Nina," he said nodding toward inside his home. "So as you can see I have an alibi for the whole night."

"Like I said, you sure got over Serenity quick. A few minutes beforehand, you were convinced she was still dating you."

"Duke Devlin never has problems meeting ladies," he said smirking.

"Except for Serenity. She wanted nothing to do for you. Are you sure that didn't piss you off? Maybe make you hurt her? Kill her?" Yugi demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Duke asked a bewildered look upon his face.

"Serenity's dead, Devlin," Yugi informed him. A sad look spread over Duke's face, and he began rambling on about how he really loved Serenity, and how he would never hurt her. Yugi told Duke he didn't really care, he just wanted the alibi. He took down Nina's number and address, as well as the name and number of the manager of Wish. Yugi called his partner, Takumi, who gave him a run through of what he had found out. Takumi had gotten as list of all the people at Gravitation the previous night. He also interviewed, the old women who lived by the park where Serenity was killed. She told Takumi she heard a car hit the curb at around 1:00 am. Then she heard somebody say "Hello," followed by a loud crack.

"That's odd," Yugi commented.

"Yeah I thought so too. What do you think about the crack?"

"I'm thinking gunshot," Yugi said. "But what about the 'Hello'?"

"I guess she knew the attacker."

"Well. That narrows things down," Yugi informed his partner.

"Makes our job a little easier."

The two decided to meet up back at the station. The two exchanged information from their interviews, then decided to review the surveillance footage from Kaiba Corp. It was pretty boring, mainly just Kaiba, working in one of the meeting rooms. They fast forwarded, not paying much attention, but then...

"Pause it!" Yugi commanded. Takumi did, and then a confused look came over his face.

"Hey! Where'd Kaiba go?" he asked.

"That's what I like to know." Yugi said. "I think we owe Mr. Kaiba another visit."

Thanks for reading!! Please leave a review, and I will update again very soon. In fact I've already started the next chapter!


	4. Mixed Messages

Well for everyone who waited for this new chapter forever, thank you for your patience! I am the worst at quick updates, I know! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Yugi and Takumi went to the Kaiba residence to inquire about Seto's mysterious appearance on the security tape. A boy with a head full of black hair answered the door. Yugi almost didn't recognize Mokuba Kaiba; he had grown a lot since the last time the two had met. The younger Kaiba brother ushered the two troopers into the house, and promised them that Seto would be down in a minute. When Kaiba finally entered the room he looked less happy then normal, if that was possible.

"I answered your questions, I gave you the surveillance tapes, what more could you want?" he asked tiredly, his ice blue eyes filled with pain. Yugi wondered if Kaiba could really kill Serenity. He seemed to truly love the girl. Yugi was pulled out of his thoughts by his partner's voice.

"That's why we're here Mr. Kaiba… the video surveillance. There is an extended duration of time where you do not appear on the tapes." A quizzical look came to the CEO's face, and his eyes became lost in thought.

"Oh. Now I remember," Kaiba said. "I went to my office to work for a while. There are no cameras in there." Of course Takumi asked if anyone could confirm this, and of course Kaiba said "No". He was the only one at Kaiba Corp, aside from the janitorial staff. Kaiba insisted that we went to his office, and pleaded the cops to believe him.

"If you're telling the truth then I assume you wouldn't mind taking a lie detector test I assume?" Yugi inquired.

"Of course I don't mind. Anything if it will get you off my back, and out looking for Serenity's killer," he said calmly, a menacing glare in his eyes. They took Seto down to the station and hooked him up to the polygraph machine. They drilled the young CEO with questions for almost an hour, but to no avail. Seto passed the polygraph with flying colors. Takumi punched the wall as he came out from the questioning.

"Damn," he said. "I really thought he did it."

"I never did," Yugi informed his partner, shaking his head. "He loved that girl. You could see it in his eyes."

"You know what they say," Takumi told Yugi. "You always hurt the one you love."

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The next day Téa arrived at the Wheeler household bright and early. "You didn't need to waste your time coming over here," Mai said glumly when she answered the door. Téa embraced the blonde woman in a large hug.

"If a friend is hurting it's never a waste of time to help them out," Téa informed Mai with a strained smile across her face.

"Any other time I'd be disgusted by that friendship speech, but right now I'm really thankful for it. I'm lucky to have a friend like you," Mai told the brunette, tears gleaming in her eyes. Téa began to clean the house, preparing for the guests. There was going to be a wake for Serenity at the Wheeler household that day. After Téa finished the vacuuming, sweeping, and dusting, she wandered into the kitchen. Mai was cooking, and Téa offered to help.

"Téa you lost a friend as well," Mai said, stating the obvious. "Maybe you should take it easy."

"I'd rather keep busy," Téa said. Her big, blue eyes begining to brim with tears. "That way I can keep my mind off Serenity." The two girls stood in the kitchen, sobbing, and holding each other tightly. The tears eventually stopped flowing, and the girls returned to their cooking. They got everything set up just in time. As soon as they set out the last dish, the doorbell rang. Joey called out that he would answer the door. Mai and Téa could hear indistinct voices coming from the doorway. Then Tristan walked into the living room, followed closely by Joey. He swept all his friends into a group hug, and they all soon began to cry.

"I can't believe she's gone," Tristan wailed.

"She meant so much to all of us," Téa added.

"Your sister was a very special person," Mai said between her tears. The four sat crying. Not speaking, but all understanding each other perfectly at that moment. None of them could really believe this was happening. It was like some awful dream, and as soon as someone pinched them, they would wake up. It would be a bad dream, but a dream none the less. They would all go on with their lives like normal. Serenity would go to school, and become a pediatrician, just like she wanted to. All the crying, all the pain, none of it made the situation more real. The doorbell rang again. Joey stood up wiping away the tears, and then wandered off with a hallow look in his eyes.

Guest began arriving by the dozens. Many family members and friends were still in town from the wedding, which had sadly been forgotten. Mai and Joey hadn't even got to go on their honeymoon. Yugi showed up, as did Ryou, the Ishtar family, Serenity's friends from the university, and even the Kaiba brothers. This came as quite a shock to Joey, who had no idea that his sister had been dating Seto. When Joey demanded to know why he had come, Seto shrugged and replied,

"Mokuba wanted to. I couldn't very well let him come alone." Joey was skeptical, but he didn't question the Kaiba brothers any further.

"It's so nice to see everyone," Téa said, trying to be upbeat. "I bet the last time we were all together was at the Battle City Tournament." A dark look came over Seto's face. Yugi caught a glimpse of his evil look, and immediately began laughing. Everyone gave Yugi an odd look, and took a step back from him as if he were insane.

"You're not still mad about Battle City are you?" Yugi asked Kaiba between laughter.

"I fail to see the joke in that," Seto said. At this comment, the rest of the group began to laugh as well.

"That was almost ten years Kaiba. C'mon, let it go," Téa told the CEO.

"Whatever," the blue eyed man replied. The laughter increased, and Seto became even angrier.

"It feels good to laugh," Mai said. Her friends nodded in agreement.

"I hate ta be da one ta ruin da mood, but is der any new information in da case Yugi?" Joey asked.

"I can't discuss that with you Joey," Yugi informed his friend. Joey's eyes tried to plead with the cop, but Yugi didn't cave. The group stood in an awkward silence. Nobody could think of anything to say. Finally Yugi spoke,

"I haven't seen you in forever Ryou. What have you been doing?"

"Oh," Ryou said, surprised someone was talking to him directly. "Well, I've got a good job at the bank, I'm vice president. It keeps me quite busy."

"Good for you. Seems like you've made quite a career," Yugi complemented. Ryou gave a small nod. Silence tool over the friends once again, but this time it was quickly interrupted by the ring of a cell phone. Yugi blushed slightly, and apologized.

"I have to take this," he said, and then made his way towards the door. The call was from Takumi. He informed Yugi that Duke's alibi checked out, and Yugi cursed softly.

"I liked him for our killer," Yugi told Takumi.

"Not me," Takumi said. "I still think its Kaiba." Yugi protested, saying that Kaiba had passed his polygraph. "You know that people can beat the lie detector," Takumi argued. "And he doesn't have a solid alibi!" Yugi didn't want to argue, so he decided to change the subject.

"Get any good leads from the list of people at Gravitation?" Yugi inquired.

"Nah," Takumi replied. "I'm at some guy's house right now. His name's Ryou Bakura, but he's not answering. I guess he's not home right now."

"Ryou Bakura?" Yugi asked. "He's was at Gravitation?"

"Yeah, why you know him?"

"He's an old friend," Yugi answered. "He's at the wake with me right now."

"Really?" Takumi said, his interest perking. "Maybe you should try and interview him now." Yugi agreed, and hung up his phone. He went back inside the Wheeler's home, and asked Ryou if he could speak with him for a moment. Ryou looked shocked, but didn't ask any questions. He silently followed Yugi outside. Yugi gave Ryou a small encouraging smile.

"I didn't mean to scare you or anything," Yugi told the cotton haired man. "I just need to ask you a few questions."

"About Serenity," Ryou said. "I mean I did see her that night, at Gravitation." Yugi was surprised that Ryou was talking very freely with him. It was probably because they were friends. Yugi let out a little sigh of relief; this would make his job easier. He didn't believe that Ryou had a hand in Serenity's murder, but he had to follow standard procedure.

"Yeah," Yugi replied. "Mai told us that she, Serenity, and Téa were at Gravitation the night she was murdered."

"They were all out dancing, and having a very good time," Ryou said, unsure of exactly what Yugi wanted from him.

"What time did you leave the leave the club?" Yugi inquired. Ryou pondered the question for a while, rubbing his right hand the whole time. Yugi noticed that the hand was cut, swollen, and bruised.

"Oh I'd say around 11:15 or so," Ryou answered.

"Do you know what time the girls left?"

"Around 11:00, if I remember correctly." Yugi nodded, jotting all the information down in his notebook.

"What happened?" Yugi asked, gesturing to the swollen hand that Ryou was rubbing.

"Oh, this?" Ryou said holding the hand out. "I'm helping a friend from work remodel his house. We were knocking down a wall, when a huge hunk of plaster fell. It landed on my hand, and this is what happened."

"Ouch," Yugi said grimacing.

"Ah, it's not as bad as it looks," Ryou shrugged.

"Where did you go after you left the club?" Yugi questioned, again changing topics.

"I went home." Yugi asked what time Ryou arrived at his house, and he replied that is took him twenty five minutes to drive home. "So you were home by 11:40," Yugi said. Ryou nodded, and Yugi thanked him for his time.

"Oh, by the way, can anyone vouch for you getting home at 11:40?" Yugi wondered.

"Yeah, Marik, Ishizu, and Odion are all staying with me for the wedding. They were up when I got home." Yugi again thanked Ryou, and they both went back inside. Upon entering the home, Yugi saw Joey by the food table, slowly piling food on a plate. Yugi hadn't had a chance to talk to his friend alone yet, so he made his way over. Unsure of exactly what to say, Yugi simply commented that there was a lot of food. Joey nodded his head, not saying a word.

"Uh…Joey…I haven't really gotten the chance to say how sorry I am about Serenity. I loved her like she was my own sister. I think everybody did. She was so full of love and life. Just because I've been all business when it comes to her case doesn't mean I'm not hurting. My way of coping is burying myself in work. But, I… really…do…miss her… Joey. I really do." Yugi could hardly get out the last few words. Tear were now steadily falling from his violet eyes.

"I know pal," Joey said. "Ya don't have ta say anything." Tears were now pouring out of his brown eyes as well. The two embraced each other and stood for the longest time, not saying a word. After a while, the two old friends dried their eyes. Yugi decided that he had better question Marik, Ishizu, and Odion, to see if they could confirm that Ryou had returned home at 11:40. Letting out a huge sigh, the Trooper walked back to where everyone else was congregated. While he longed to get the questioning done with quickly, his professional side told him to follow procedure. He did things the long way, taking all three of his friends aside separately; asking them what time Ryou had come home the night of Serenity's murder.

He was emotionally fatigued by the time he got around to interrogating his last comrade, Marik. "I just have a couple of things to ask you about the night Serenity was murdered," he told the blonde Egyptian. Marik gave a small nod. Upon looking into the man's violet eyes, Yugi felt as though he were glancing at a mirror. He knew his eyes contained the same weary sadness that we could now see in Marik's. He decided to cut the police crap and ask exactly what he wanted to know. "Do you remember what time Ryou got home that night?" Marik suddenly looked very uncomfortable. His eyes began darting quickly around the room, as though the answers lay hidden somewhere in the walls. He nervously shifted his weight back and forth, from one foot to the other, and bit his lower lip.

"Uh…" Marik trailed off. "He came home at about midnight." He looked like there was something that he was repressing, and Yugi believed it was the information he was withholding that made Marik so edgy.

"Are you sure that's the time he came home?" Yugi asked. Marik contemplated the question, and then gave a small shrug followed by a nod.

"Yeah," he said. "Give or take a few minutes." Yugi thanked Marik, and let the man go back to the join the others. As soon as Marik was out of sight Yugi buried his face in his hands and let out a groan of frustration. What he thought would be a routine questioning had turned into a big problem. He had two conflicting stories, a sinking feeling that Marik was hiding something, and two people (Ishizu and Odion) who unconvincingly claimed they were asleep by the time Ryou had arrived back at the house while Yugi distincly remember Ryou saying they had all been awake when he came back.Yugi pulled out his cell phone as was about to dial Takumi's cell phone number when his phone rang, startling the young Trooper.

"_Hai? Moshi moshi_," Yugi answered.

"We have a problem," Takumi said. Yugi raised an eyebrow.

"Yes we do, but how you know about it confuses me," Yugi told his partner.

"Are we talking about two different problems?" Takumi inquired.

"Mine concerns Ryou Bakura."

"Mine concerns Seto Kaiba. The security cameras caught him leaving Kaiba Corp. when he claimed to be in his office."

"Well Ryou Bakura claims to have gotten home at 11:40 the night Serenity was murdered, but Marik, who was staying at his house for the wedding, said he remembers Ryou coming home at midnight."

"Oh God," exclaimed Takumi. "Well I guess now we have one huge, confusing, complicated problem on our hand."

I love to leave off at cliffhangers! Muh hah hah. I'm pretty evil, I know. I will try with all my might to update soon! Christmas break is coming soon and I will have a lot of free time so expect a quicker update this time! Oh, and please leave your guesses as to who you think the killer is! I love to hear all the guesses, for some reason they just make my day! I'm odd, I know it.


End file.
